Bonsai Forum

TOPIC: What is happening to my pyracantha firethorn?

I received a pyracantha firethorn from Bonsai Boy in NY on 1/22/18 and it was great all through the week. After coming into the office yesterday (1/29/18) after the weekend, a number of the leaves are yellow as shown in the attached image.

Soil is moist and there was water in the drip tray all weekend. The bonsai is in a south facing window that gets at least 6 hours of full sun a day. Bonsai Boy support wasn't much help when I tried to contact them, so I'm hoping someone here can tell me.

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Pyracantha coccinea is the normal european firethorn. This plant is hardy like boots. You can (and I suspect should) keep them outside. Why they would recommend bringing them in is beyond me.

The yellowing of leaves could be a sign that the roots are too wet. And of course, in general, of too many changes in climate.

Do you know how it was kept at bonsaiboy?

PS: Bonsaiboy does not have a good name when it comes to their advice on bonsai care. Besides that, they sell lots of plants as bonsai that really are nothing but cuttings in a pot. For your next tree, look around a little. There is a lot of variation in what is being sold.

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Thanks all. Unfortunately there was not much looking to be done on my part as I ended up receiving this as a gift.

I also read another site that mentioned the yellowing might be too much water in the soil and I was curious how wet the soil should be for this species? I do have a moisture meter (standard green one with a 1-10 scale) but I was curious if a generalization could be made to keep it in the "4-7 moist range, but no higher" or not.

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